USA Major League Soccer

USA major league soccer is one of the major professional sports leagues of both the United States and Canada. The league represents the highest level of soccer in both countries featuring a total of 20 clubs, 17 in the USA and 3 in Canada.

History

The league was founded in 1993 before the 1994 FIFA world Cup and the first season was held two years later with only ten teams. Major League Soccer experienced financial problems in the first few years losing millions of dollars which forced two teams to fold in 2002. Today, the league has become a success story and the once empty stadiums are now parked with soccer fans. The average attendance now exceeds that of other popular sports leagues like basketball and hockey. The 20 team league is now profitable and has an ambitious plan of expanding to 24 teams. 
Operation and ownership

MLS is a single entity operated and owned by investors and not an association of independently owned teams. Each team is owned and controlled by league’s investors just like owners control teams in other major leagues. Like most sports in U.S and Canada, the league has fixed membership and does not use relegation and promotion. 

The future of Major League Soccer

The future of MLC does not stop with adding more teams to the league. Among the future plans is to have a more formal completion with successful English football leagues. Talks are ongoing to set up an Anglo-American Cup with the Premier League which will include FA Cup and Premier League winners going to USA. If the plans will be successful, the tournament will be held annually as opposed to the few clubs participating in MLC on their pre-season tours. 

The concept of super cups involving MLC and major leagues is seen by many as a smart move towards the future. And the cloud is only the lower limit for MLC. There are many opportunities to work more closely with popular leagues and major tournament winners across Europe. If David Beckhams’ Miami franchise plans are anything to go by, more big names and teams will flock Major League soccer in the future. Steven Gerrard is already on board and it’s no surprise that Rooney said he would consider the possibility of playing in MLS at some point in his career. 

The future for USA Major League soccer looks bright and the debate is how big it will become rather than whether the league will survive. In addition, the level of talent in the league currently being displayed is quite promising not only for MLS but also for the U.S.A. national soccer team. 

League system

The MLS season starts from March and playoffs held on October and December. The teams are divided into two Conferences, Eastern and Western. Each team play 34 matches, 24 of those matches against teams in their Conference and 10 matches against teams in the other Conference. Supporters Shield is awarded to the team with the highest point total after the end of the regular season. The Post season playoffs then follow in November with 12 teams competing, ending with the championship game, MLS Cup, in early December.

Although some people argue the playoffs are not necessary and that they reduce the importance of the league, MLS commissioner Don Garber believes that meaningful playoffs increase the value of competition. The 2015 playoffs will feature 12 teams, the first with an expanded field of 12 teams; each team will play 34 matches. Two to three matches against teams in the same conference and one match against teams from the other conference. The third seed will host the sixth seed while the fourth will host the fifth in a single knockout match. The top seed will play the lowest remaining seed and the second to play the next lowest in the semifinals. The MLC Cup finals will be held on Dec 6. 

MLS teams also compete in other major and lower divisions in the USA and Canada. MLS sends up to 5 teams to compete in the CONCACAF Champions League each season. However, no MLS team is yet to win the Champions League, and the best performance was Real Salt reaching the finals in 2011 and Montreal Impact in 2015. The teams also participate in an All-Star Game, a friendly game during Midway season break among other international friendly matches. Pre-season tours of teams in the Premier League like Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea including participating in the International Champions Cup over the past two years now. The annual friendly tournament has increased the popularity of MLS and the improved TV deal ESPN, Fox Sports and Univision Deportes is attracting more investors to the league. 

Expansion and growth 

The expansion period started in 2005 saw two more clubs join the league. Los Angeles was the first team to join the market before the league opened its stadiums to Canada in 2007. The league aims to expand from the current 20 teams to 22 teams by 2017. The officials revealed that plans are underway to have Atlanta and either Minnesota and Los Angeles on board. Depending on which teams joins first between Los Angeles and Minnesota, the league is set to have up to 23 teams in 2018 and 24 teams by 2020. And the teams will not stop at 24, Don Garber said the question is not if the league will have more than 24 teams, but it’s when the league will expand to 24 team and more. The expansion parameters are said to be among the agenda on the next board of governors meeting to ensure the expansion is not pushed beyond the league breaking point. 

Two expansion teams, Orlando City SC and New York City FC are some of the expansion teams featured in 2015 MLS season. Both teams joined the Eastern Conference. The New York City FC joins the New Jersey team in the New York metropolitan area while Orlando returns to Florida after folding their Tampa Bay and Miami franchises at the end of 2001 season. However, MLS folded one franchise, Chivas USA at the end of 2014 season. But with new and improved TV deal that will see MLS receive over $90million annually, the popularity of the league continues to grow and new investors and teams looking to join MLS. 

Stats

Teams with most titles

Statistics of all American clubs that have won the top league more than once, concerning the period 1996-2025.

Clubs and Serbian SuperLiga titles

Club	Titles
LA Galaxy	6
D.C. United	4
Columbus Crew	3
Seattle Sounders FC	2
Houston Dynamo FC	2
San Jose Earthquakes	2
Sporting Kansas City	2

Besides the league title (MLS Cup winner), The Supporters' Shield is given to team with the best regular season record.

By Oscar Anderson

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Soccer